Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Thursday, August 21, 2008

A while back I had posted some images of Asajj Ventressbut wasn't sure as to who the artist was, just recently I learned that these pieces were done by Alex Woo check his blog for more Woo-luscious art!

I had no intention of attending Comic-Con this year but little did I know that I would be driving eight hours south to San Diego where a convention full of madness awaited. As fate would have it I did in fact attended Comic-Con for my 9th year in a row! To make things a little more interesting my sister, her buddy and I put together a list of Comic-Con treasures if you will, our list consisted of things we would more than likely see even if we didn't want to. On the list and one of my favorite pictures would be the little Jedi up above there and his bounty hunter friend? Click the image for a like the rest of my Con photos or here.

I picked up prints of both these pieces.By the very talented Dustin Nguyen his blog is here.

It was very cool to see such a huge presence of The Clone Wars at the Con and it was the first time that I realized how massive the Star Wars universe is to the fans. The main presentation was really cool in Hall H but from my understanding the real prize was attending the 3D Story panel called "3D Story: The Making of Clone Wars which can be found here.As for other happenings the Star Wars "The Clone Wars" movie hit the theaters last week and allowed the world a visual glimpse of what the tv show will have in store come this Fall. This show really is going to give other 3D animated shows a run for their money, once The Clone Wars airs I think people are going to really take notice of how beautiful this show looks and how cool it is to have an on-going animated tv series for Star Wars.

As well I'm sure some of the hard-core fans have been poking around on-line but there have been a series of really cool interviews and web videos posted from a press release that George Lucas had at Lucasfilm Animation Ltd.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

I heard the New York times was doing an interview with George but I didn't know they would be posting these great sketches of Asajj Ventress! Not sure who the artist is but I'm sure I'll find out from the guys, it's always funny to end up seeing something new or really cool on the internet but it's something you've never even seen it at work.

The article was a pretty good read, nothing all that new but there were a few bits and pieces that I think alot of industry people will pick up on. It's worth giving a listen as well to the mp3 files they have posted, they're pretty short but give a little more insight that the article may have missed.

I think this was the best quote pulled in the piece, or at least what I think kind of sums things up, even for the haters out there is this. “He’s the guy,” said Dave Filoni, director of the “Clone Wars” show and movie. “Chewbacca exists because he named him, thought him up, put him in the cockpit.”

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

When I landed my first gig as a Production Assistant I felt like the doors had finally opened and that all my hard work and all my crazy dreams of pursuing a career in animation were finally paying off. It was an amazing and rewarding feeling and honestly I think that if you can approach each new job with that same amazement, then there are lots of opportunities for you along the road.

However it doesn't mean that the road isn't a difficult one...and though you might have the most amazing opportunities you need to quickly remember that keeping that foot firmly planted in the door can be a tricky one.

Something that I've been thinking about recently and something that I thought worth sharing (although at this point this blog is more for me than anyone else) anyways...something worth sharing and remembering to do so is being able to work well with others, getting the job done is really only part of whats required in an animation studio.

I think that I've had enough jobs in and out of animation at this point that I can safely say, as I think most would agree...is that being able to work well with your co-workers is extremely important and honestly it might just determine whither or not you'll land your next job based on if your a team player and well liked.

Working with-in the studio environment is really a bizarre situation, you have directors, line-producers, producers, writers, artists, production assistants, and all sorts of others who make everything happen. And though you might try as you like to always be viewed as the nice-good-guy-laid-back-likable-person...well sometimes you might end up being the jerk!

Funny thing is I don't know if any of us ever really takes a step back and says "Oh, that was really un-cool of me" but believe me when the time comes you better be ready to listen to what others have to say about it. And the thing is it's just as easy...to be the one who sees someone else acting like a jerk and to be really unforgiving about it, even if that person is having an off day or has some serious life issues going on.

I think hands down if your going to work towards being part of the animation industry you really need to try to not only find the positive in others but also strive to bring out the positive in yourself.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

J.J. Abrams is currently one of my favorite directors/creative types in the industry, after watching Cloverfield last night I watched a video that I had seen posted on a site that I had no knowledge about called TED, it looks to be an amazing organization. Their mission is to spread ideas, not a bad mission to have.

J.J. gave a talk on what he called the "Mystery Box". Well worth a watch and you can also download by clicking here HD version. It's a great creative recharge, you can tell that J.J. is trying to cram alot into a short amount of time but he shares some great stuff...and wouldn't you know it...he references Star Wars!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Man what a cool movie, way entertaining and still holds up watching it at home. When I first watched Cloverfield at the local theater I was just happy that I didn't barf but I still couldn't help but think how exciting (and rare) it was to be entertained at a movie again. I don't know, maybe it had just been awhile since something cool came along that didn't really suck?

I just picked up the dvd and can already tell that I'm going to regret not waiting for the special edition, not to ruin the fun but don't miss this like I did in the theater...make sure to watch the end credits (and listen to the amazing movie theme by Michael Giacchino)...when you see the last film logos running up the screen crank up your tvs volume as loud as you can for a nice little treat.

As well here are a couple cool variations on the movie posters that were released (or maybe not?). Can't say that I ever saw any of them other than the iconic Statue of Liberty one.

Monday, April 21, 2008

In all honestly when I spotted the Clone Wars sneak peak about two years ago I was a skeptic. At first glance I thought it had some what of a video game quality about it. The designs seemed considerably different than that of Paul Rudish and GenndyTartakovsky's Clone Wars which I like most nerds am a BIG fan of. Although the new Clone Wars would be in 3D I had no idea what I was in store for.

Soon after thinking that I ran into Justin Ridgeat Comic-Con he's a really great guy and at that time he was Assistant Director on the show, when I asked him how the show was coming along he said "Were trying to make it look as much as 2D as we can while still doing it in 3D".

Fast forward to the present...I've been consistently amazed at the development of the show. All it takes is a stroll over to Star Wars dot com for a behind the scene look at some of the amazingly talented people they have on the show. One of my favorite video spots shows the sculptor who solidified the designs that were later transformed into the 3D models.

The 3D designs really look great, I think they've been able to take some of the influence from the 2D designs and make them look cool in 3D. The textures on this show are very unique as well and for a 3D show I think the art direction is amazing, I really dig the painterly quality of the show. If you look at the teaser trailer you can really see how different this is from any 3D show on tv.

As for the animation and the story, it's really hard to judge based on the teaser...however everyone will just take a look at your local animation pub Cartoon Brew.

All I can say is in the past four months I've seen some really kick ass stuff and animation that goes above and beyond what television animation is usually capable of, I think that the fans are in for a real treat once the show gets rolling.More to come.

I've been wanting to post a few new finds to the wacky-world of Star Wars. Although I had no intentions for this blog to become a Star Wars blog it certainly has the look of one so I guess to a certain degree it will be...I just can't help but share some of what I've come a cross. So I hope that who ever reads this blog will enjoy these posts as much as I enjoyed finding them!

A few weeks ago I was at the local comic book shop and noticed some really cool art work on these boxes for a new Star Wars game called "Star Wars Legacy Miniatures" anyways, the box had a really great painting of Luke in an outfit that I really didn't recognize but the likeness of his character was spot-on. The following week I asked a co-worker if he was familiar with the artist...and he did!

So I would like to introduce Terese Nielsen, her blog is really cool (click on her name for a link) and she has some great examples and tips as to how she approaches her work. As well she talks about the Art Direction and the feedback she gets on her pieces as she develops and finalizes her paintings. Something else she does that I thought was way cool is she posts her photo reference and in one instance she posted a pose she did for reference.

Very cool of her to share her talents and experience and definitely worth your time to check out!

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

So I guess I'm officially a big-time-nerd...I just signed up for the Hyperspace Membership I was looking over the Star Wars site and noticed they have an "Hyperspace Exclusive" about Ahsoka...and even though I get to see this stuff all day long...I couldn't help myself, I joined!!

As a perk to you I've posted the screen savers that seem to now be exclusives.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

It's been busy at Big Rock the past week and I'm getting ready for round two with the coming week.

I feel that I'm pretty much into full swing now with how the production pipe-line works on the show. Getting hired to work on the Clone Wars was a real reminder of what a star-wars-nerd I am. Immediately I found myself sucked back into a galaxy far far away, I can honestly say that I've never been more excited about Star Wars than I am now.

With that being said I've been checking out what the other branches of Lucasfilm are up to and it looks like LucasArts is putting some pretty cool stuff together. The Force Unleashed is the game that may make me a believer in the price tag for a PS3. Take a look at some of the concept work that's floating around as well as their newly re-designed web site...the concept work alone is enough to grab my attention let alone the cool effects they're showing off.

Also be sure to check out the cool renders of the main characters over at Star Wars dot com.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

It's right around the corner, if you've never been and you love pop-culture you really need to make the trek.

As for those of you who attend yearly and haven't gotten around to it...Pro-Registration has been posted. You should have gotten a letter around the beginning of March with your username and password, if you work in the animation industry or a semi-related professional field you really should sign up for the Pro-Registration. Once you go Pro you'll never need to go back, it's basically a free 4 day Comic-Con pass for you and one lucky guest.

Although I've been attending Comic-Con for the last 8 years I'm on the fence about it this year, it's a tough sell being so far north, maybe that makes it more of an adventure. I had the opportunity to check out Wonder-Con last February and although it was cool to see San Fransisco's geeks unite it certainly wasn't theSan Diego Comic-Con.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

But I actually thought of something to talk about other than just posting a bunch of cool random stuff, although I plan to do that from time to time as well.

I was thinking about how damn lucky I am to work at Lucasfilm Animation and at Big Rock Ranch it's really more than a dream come true and honestly I never even really considered Lucasfilm as a remote possibility for employment.

A friend of mine just recently came up to the Ranch for a visit and said something to me that really stood out, she said working for George Lucas seems "unattainable". That really got me to thinking about how I felt while I was going to school for animation, while in school it dawned on me that there's not too many people in this world who actually get to do what they dream of doing. I know plenty of people way more talented and driven than I am who wanted to work in the animation industry but never made it.

The best advice I can give to anyone who has a desire to work in animation...is really just keep at it. Although there may be times where you end up working a long line of crap jobs there's always something to be learned along the way, even if it's just perseverance. Bottom line is if you give up you'll never come across that opportunity that you've been waiting for.

I'm inspired by stories that I can relate to, stories about personal trials and hardships seem to be easy to find in just about any story. The story of Luke Skywalker leaving behind everything he knew to become a Jedi is just my all-time-favorite hands down, I thought the image of Luke looking out into the horizon was a nice reminder of that.

Monday, March 24, 2008

As a kid I can remember my first day of school, the excitementand the wonder of experiencing something new and adventurous.

So when I started my first job working in the Animation Industry it reminded me of what it was to be a kid again and to have the opportunity to experience something adventurous and new in a new light, it was pretty much like being a kid again.

I had kicked the idea around a while (a few years now) about setting up a blog where I could share my personal experiences as I work in animation and try to figure out what I'm doing as an artist in this crazy industry. It's my hope to share some of the challenges I've faced getting my "foot in the door" and what it's taken to keep it firmly wedged in.

Currently I am lucky enough to say I am working for one of the best animation studios around Lucasfilm Animation Ltd., although not the most well known I'm sure you've heard of the guy who started it. Yep, I work for George Lucas and for the past two months I've been working as a 3D Story Artist on the television seriesThe Clone Wars.It's been better than any dream I could come up with and it's been better than anything I could possibly imagine!

So here's to our first days and to many more adventures in life and animation!